The Magic of Jared Spool

The Magic of Jared SpoolApr 27th, 2011

Photo by D. Decker

Of the people for whom I have such great respect, Jared Spool is at the top of that list. Jared is a seasoned veteran in the field of usability and user research. With a background in software development he founded User Interface Engineering in 1988. He is a faculty member at Tufts University Gordon Institute and perhaps one of the most prolific presenters in the user experience field. He is a kind soul with a wealth of knowledge. He is showman with the experience to back up his claims.

However, Jared doesn’t just keep the knowledge he gains to himself, he shares it with the community through his workshops, keynotes, and presentations worldwide. It would be easier to count the days that he has been on terra firma than not as he travels. He has become an advocate for good design, usability, user research, and good experiences with products and services. Jared has personally helped mentor me through some very challenging times and tough decisions in my career. I very am grateful for his insights, advice, honesty, and motivation over the years.

So for these reasons and more, today, Jared Spool joins my short list of those known and unknown in our industry who are helping us advance our careers and the profession of user experience at large. This list includes the likes of Michael Angeles, Stephen P. Anderson, Jonathan Knoll, and Lou Rosenfeld. Jared, we encourage your behavior with open arms.

For those in Seattle, you can get your chance to hear Jared present along with several other great speakers at the Web App Masters Tour on May 23rd and 24th. If you haven’t heard Jared present before you are in for a great treat. If you do get a chance to talk to him after the show or between sessions, ask him to show you a card trick. He has quite a few magic tricks up his sleeve.

About the author

Nick Finck is a user experience professional who has dabbled in the web for over a decade. He specializes in information architecture, interaction design, usability and user research. Read more

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